It is anticipated that bird tourism is to contribute 10 percent of Rwanda’s tourism receipts by 2010 a study by On The Frontier Group indicates.

This is in a move to move away from the monoculture of gorilla tourism. Rwanda’s bird watching industry as a product of the country’s tourist attractions was launched recently at Akagera to explore its opportunities.

Information from the tourism office shows that there is a huge potential in birding and the capacity to compete with the rest of the world.

Rwanda boasts of over 700 species, of which 44 are endemic to the country. Over 60 percent of these are found in Nyungwe and the rest in Akagera.

Annette Tamara the Communications Officer at Rwanda Development Board (RDB), in the tourism and conservation department, said that tourists are trickling in to watch different bird species. She said last year Rwf2 million was registered from the birding destination.

Tamara also added that a massive birding awareness campaign was launched to ensure that the target is met.

Bird watching launched last year is in line with the strategy to have 70,000 visitors who will generate $100 million next year and it’s through diversification that the target will be achieved.

Information available from RDB also indicates that conference tourism will generate $28 million and $31 million would be generated from cultural tourism by 2010.

Other products available include canopy walks in Nyungwe, Lake Kivu tourism with a brand new 24-seater boat on Lake Kivu, and soon cave exploration will be launched.

For the first six months RDB says that the tourism generated $92.7 million.  Out of 440,000 international visitors who arrived in Rwanda during the first semester of 2009, 43 percent of them were in Rwanda for business related purposes.

The figures represent a 7 percent increase compared to the 408,000 recorded in the same period last year.

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